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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — employees
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. staff — employees
  13. craft — a skill
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a tool
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. craft — boats
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com